“When I think about stuff, I get nervous. And when I get nervous, I fall apart,” Carll explained.

Carll is releasing his new album “What It Is” Feb. 15. He recently moved to Nashville and is engaged to fellow singer Allison Moorer. They plan to wed later this year. He had plenty to distract himself from the reality that on Tuesday night he would walk into the Opry’s famed circle for the first time and with those steps become part of the show’s storied history alongside the likes of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Garth Brooks – whom he met upon his arrival at the Opry House.

Carll was fine. He was assigned the dressing room Into the Circle, where ornate velvet chairs are on each side of the room, a picture of Opry member Chris Young hangs over the couch and an Alan Jackson quote is scribed across the wall. Hayes said it was the quote that got him.

“‘That’s what makes you so nervous …,” Carll said, quoting Jackson. “I didn’t even get to the rest of (the quote). It was like, ‘(Darn) it, Alan.’”

Then Moorer, who has played the Opry three times, pushed him further.

“She’s not particularly sentimental,” Carll explained. “She said, ‘It does something to you when you walk out there, I don’t care who you are. So just prepare yourself.’”

With that, Carll said he teared up. He stood on stage before the audience was let into the Opry House and looked at the famed circle and the empty seats. His mind scrolled through the decades of performers who had stood in that very spot and their own unique exchanges with the audience.

Hayes Carll made his Grand Ole Opry debut on Tuesday.(Photo11: photo by David McClister)

Jeannie Seely and Dailey & Vincent performed before him and Carll stood side stage with Moorer, out of the spotlight, just watching. When it was his turn, the soft-spoken Texan walked out with just his guitar and performed his Grammy-nominated “Chances Are” that was recorded by Lee Ann Womack. Moorer joined him for “Jesus and Elvis” (previously recorded by Kenny Chesney) and “American Dream,” both songs he co-wrote that are from his new album.

About 15 minutes later, Carll was back in his dressing room and tripping over his words a bit he said because of the rush of playing the Opry stage.

“It was incredible,” he gushed of the experience. “It was wonderful. I would love to do it again. I’ve been trying to be really nice to everybody and be on my best behavior, hoping they’ll ask me back.”

Singer-songwriter Allison Moorer joined her fiance Hayes Carll on stage during his Grand Ole Opry debut on Tuesday.(Photo11: Submitted)

In May, Carll and his fiancée will be full-time Nashville residents and have plenty of time for Opry visits. In the meantime, he’s focused on his new album. He describes “What It Is” as a combination of his past albums and the happiness he’s feeling in his personal life. Recorded in Nashville, the singer said he made the most of the town’s world-class musicians and songwriters and believes that’s reflected on the album.

“(Nashville) opened up a creative well,” he said. “I’m the kind of guy, when I first started writing I was living in this desolate beach town … and it was pretty solitary. Here it’s something every day. People are going in and doing it in the studio and writing rooms, and it’s an energy and a pulse and a drive that I haven’t seen anywhere else. I feel like I’m starting over in a way and anything is possible.”

Carll is embarrassed to admit that leading up to the move, he was feeling creatively stagnate. Writing and performing just felt like a job to him – any job – and not the dream he knew it was.

“I felt a little disconnected from (the music) and the title of this record stems from me trying to find that again because life is too short and I’m too blessed to be unhappy about any of it," he said. "I’m very fortunate in so many ways."

NEWSLETTERS

Get the Eat Drink Nashville newsletter delivered to your inbox

We're sorry, but something went wrong

Eating and drinking, that's what Nashville does! (Well, and music.) Come here for the latest news and trends.

The singer felt himself turn a corner with the help of his songwriter friend Ray Wylie Hubbard.

“The days that my gratitude is higher than my expectations are good days,” Carll quoted Hubbard as saying. "Having gratitude for all of the things that I’ve got rather than anxiety or stress or visions of things that I don’t, as long as I can stay in that headspace, life is pretty good."